As you can see by the previous blog post we are without live cam until at least Monday morning. The server that takes the feed from the cam and sends it out to Ustream conked out for good about noon today. BBC hopes that they can have it back up and running tomorrow. Cross your talons, I know I am. I will try to post an update if I get one in the morning. Just think of how much bigger the kids will be when we see them again.

The day on the nest (what we saw of it) was gorgeous. A lovely spring Sunday to raise some eaglets. Harmony and Peace were doing their routine stuff and Mom and Dad were helping them grow as good eagle parents should. The only highlight we have from today is Harmony ejecting 4 pellets in a row this morning. 4!! Can you believe it?? She must have made some major room in her crop! Mom even helped her get rid of one of them.

Not having the cam actually lets me talk about something besides eagles. Don’t worry, its related!

Have you ever really thought about how the picture and sound get to your computer??

Yep, didn’t think so!

The graphic below gives a very simplified version of what it takes to get the picture and sound to you.

It starts with the solar panels that provide power to the cam. That power is sent up the tree to the cam, then the cam makes pictures in HD digital form and sends them back down the tree. They are then sent to BBC by a radio uplink, that has at least two relays in it, and are received at their offices. At BBC the signal goes through a radio downlink, a server that controls the cam, a box that prepares it for Ustream and a router to get it out to the internet. Once in “the Cloud” it can pass through many routers and servers to reach Ustream. Ustream’s servers then take the signal and make a 2nd stream just for iDevices and other handheld smart thingies. Both signals are then re-uploaded to the Internet and on to what are called Content Delivery Networks. These CDNs serve different parts of the country and help to take the load off the main Ustream servers. These CDNs are also why I can have a great picture and sound in California but someone in New England can be suffering the dreaded Blue Circle Of Death. It all depends on the Internet and how crowded your part of it is. Things were so much simpler with point to point broadcasting! All in all, the signal may pass through upwards of 50 servers and routers before it gets to your screen. It’s amazing that it gets there at all.

There are lots of things that go on between the cam and BBC and out in the internet that are not included in this very simplified explanation. Try not to think about them and just enjoy the pictures and sound we receive. It’s what we are all here for after all!

There is both a short and long version of Harmony casting her pellets today.

MNBound Eagles Harmony Casts a Pint-Sized Pellet (Short Version)

And the long version.

MNBound Eaglet Casts 4 Pellets in 8 Minutes

I told you kids to stay put!

I leave you now with the hope that the cam will be up and running in the morning. BroadBand Corp has always gone the extra mile to keep the cam running and I am sure they will not fail to do so again. We thank them for the effort and cheer them on to success. Thanks to Razzle for the vids and pic today. I hope you rested up while the cam was down.

Here’s hoping you chatters and mods had a good day even with the cam down.

See you on the nest tomorrow!

TalonStrike

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to post them below or in the chat room. Also, we'll be updating our official MN Bound LIVE Eagles Facebook Page regularly so you can follow along, like, or share with your friends. We have several site moderators this year to help give optimal information to all that want to learn more about these magnificent birds.

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